All wisdom begins in wonder, and this delight kindles a desire for truth that leads us on a quest for the really real -- the source of being itself. Hence, the philosophical impulse, albeit often manifested in atheistic and irreverent stumblings in the dark of human ignorance, begins and ultimately ends in theology -- communicating and communing with our origin and goal. We men are rational animals who seek to know. We are agents of truth who want correct answers to questions that we must ask. From the noblest objects of contemplation to the seemingly insignificant everyday trivialities of life, we attempt to unravel perplexing knots. Limited, blind, and distracted, we nevertheless struggle for wisdom. This is our lot, and it is also our glory.

Thursday, August 1, A.D. 2013

A Republic of Ratbags

On this first day of August (N.C.), I wish you an enjoyable month. May you prosper and remain cool and well hydrated for the remainder of the summer. This will likely be the only entry on Arimathea for the month due to my travel in Puerto Rico. I shall not post again until the beginning of the (ecclesial) year.

Last April, I read about a quiz administered by Pew Research that measured Americans’ familiarity with the basic political landscape during the election cycle. It was a short thirteen question test that asked about current issues and politics. It was easy! I scored 13/13, naturally, but I was shocked when I saw the scores for the test takers in Pew’s national survey (which I assume Pew administered before putting the quiz online). The results showed widespread ignorance—even in an election year. I sent the test to family and friends, and people responded with the same surprise. My sister, who hardly ever watches the news or reads the paper, scored 12/13, which was still in the upper 10% of results. Half the country has no idea what is going on, and they vote! But democracy is clearly the best political system ever devised . . .

The political quiz is unfortunately no longer available. The link that I had saved now goes to a “News IQ” quiz, which I just took. Of course, I scored 13/13, again; only 8% of the original respondents answered all the questions accurately. Despite the fact that I find this test harder (mainly because I do not expect normal people to know what Elizabeth “Taxagawea” Warren looks like or what a particular trendy company’s corporate logo is), I believe that 8% is higher than the percentage of perfect scorers from last April’s political awareness test. I do not remember the exact scores (I should have saved them), but you may read Pew’s report on the survey and the results according to partisan affiliation: “What the Public Knows about the Political Parties.” Amusing line from the report:

Republicans fare substantially better than Democrats on several questions in the survey, as is typically the case in surveys about political knowledge.

Ha! Coastal elites like to imagine that their party is the one of intellectuals, and that is largely true due to the deformed Zeitgeist. However, the Democrats get their election numbers from piss ignorant proles, ne’er-do-wells, and halfwits, who simply vote for the politicians who promise them “mo’ stuff.” The report also states that independents tend to have less knowledge of the parties . . . due, I assume, to apathy. Most independents probably just do not care. I wonder, mostly from my own egoism, whether people who are independent on principle fare better. I am doing my part to represent us 13/13 Americans (I-Idiocracy).